Page 77 of The Luck of Finding You
We wear sweaters without coats for a few weeks and then bam, the cruel winter air cuts through the morning instead of the crisp fall air that I love so much.
I make the ten-minute drive to the park that Mo suggested, grateful that traffic is light and I make it in time. I park in the parking lot opposite the reflecting pool where he said he’d be, just because I don’t want to be able to see from my car if he’s standing there or not.
My hands are shaking as I pull the keys out of the ignition.
“I can do this,” I tell myself again as I get out of the car. “I can do this.”
With every step I take through the ever-darkening park, all I can think about is Noah.
I see him in the café, the first time I met him. The first time I kissed him. I feel his lips on mine and warmth rushes through me. I let out a weird sob-and-smile combination as I think about when we kissed a few weeks ago and how much has changed since then. I think about the way he says my name in such a reverent way all the time and how he’s always trying to make me either laugh or blush.
A leaf crunches under my foot and my mind is thrown back to the day at the lawyer’s office when I learned my new fate and ran from the building. That was really the first day that leaves had been on the ground. I was so angry that day. Mad that even though I get to keep The Book Shop, I still don’t have the money or the time to take a break and go to Scotland like I wanted to next summer.
I remember the night of the book club, when the ladies—my friends, though much older than me—all flirted with Noah and he took it with such ease.
He’s so kindhearted and makes me want to curl up under a blanket and listen to him read to me for hours.
I stop short just before turning the corner where I know Mo will be standing. I let out another half-laugh, half-sob and force myself to calm down. I wipe the tears from my cheeks, mentally preparing myself to meet Mo. It doesn’t matter what he looks like because I know now that I’m in love with Noah.
It doesn’t matter what Mo looks like or that we like the same types of books or think that hot chocolate is a better drink than coffee. All the things we’ve talked about over the past two years? They don’t matter, not really. He’s just been an internet friend, and yeah, I’m finally about to meet him, but then I’ve got to tell him that I fell in love with someone else. Someone real. Someone who I’ve been falling in love with since I saw him again. Someone who runs his hands through his hair a million times a day, and how I’m always in awe that it never fails to still look perfect.
A man who’s charmed his way into my life and my heart, even though I don’t think that was his intention at all. It just happened.
And yeah, maybe it’s a little fast because technically, I’ve only truly known Noah for three weeks, but it feels like a lifetime.
Dad knew Mom one whole week before he asked her to marry him. He always said that he just knew that it was her who he was going to spend his life with, so why wait?
“Dang it.” I wipe way at the tears that won’t seem to stop. I take a deep breath and go around the corner.
My eyes must be really blurry because I think I see Mo barking and running toward me. I squat down. “What are you doing here, little buddy?” I ask him. A realization hits me so hard that I nearly fall over. “Mo?” I whisper suspiciously, and he licks my hands in response.
I stand slowly and walk over to the twinkling lights surrounding a gazebo that’s near the water. Noah is standing in the center, holding a bouquet of daisies, just like the ones he gave me earlier today.
I stop a foot away from him.
“Why are you crying, Book Girl?” Noah asks, his voice so gentle that I nearly start sobbing again. He hasn’t called me that once, not since that first day five years ago.
“It’s you,” I say through another sob, even though now I’m smiling.
“It’s me.” Noah moves closer, the gap between us almost gone. He doesn’t reach out for me yet.
“But. Wait. Did you know in St. George?” I push away from him, but he catches my arm.
“I guessed the day that we kissed, when you told me about your internet friend,” Noah confesses. “I knew for sure that week after.”
I’m stunned. “And you didn’t think it was a good idea to let me in on that information?” I’m so relieved that it’s him. I wanted it to be him. I hit him in the chest because I have to let out some of my anger, but I also want to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him.
“I kind of freaked out when I figured it out,” Noah tells me, his eyes never leaving mine. He squeezes my hand and takes a small step forward so we’re so close that I can feel his chest move as he breathes. “I already knew I was falling for you. It felt like the right thing to meet Nora and figure it all out. But then you were going on and on about this guy that you were meeting, and I felt so much pressure.”
“Why didn’t you show up?” I hate that my voice cracks, but I have to know.
Noah’s eyes fill with tears. “I got locked in the bathroom without a phone for an hour. I went in to splash cold water on my face and just mentally prepare to face you as Mo, but then I got locked in. I only got out in time to get the book signed. I ran back to the hotel to explain everything, but you were already gone.” Noah presses his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to stand you up.”
I let out a small laugh. It’s not funny—really not funny. But relief fills my body because now I know that he didn’t stand me up on purpose.
I wrap my arms around his neck, trusting my heart for the first time. “I’m glad it’s you.”
“Really?” Noah’s voice cracks this time.
